


Vibing Ghosts

by best_ghost



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Ghosts AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:40:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17581943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/best_ghost/pseuds/best_ghost
Summary: When Caitlin dies very suddenly, all of Team Flash is shocked, but none are as shocked at Caitlin herself, who finds that she isn't being allowed to rest in peace. Caitlin is forced to watch her friends struggle to continue without her, never knowing that she is watching in the very same room, only as a ghost. Neither she nor Killer Frost, who is stuck with her, can figure out why they are stuck as ghosts, unable to communicate with their friends. And yet, that's not completely true, as the two soon discover when Cisco starts vibing Caitlin's ghost. Once Cisco realizes what's happening, he promises to help her understand why she's become a ghost and how to move on to the next part of her existence.





	1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be an easy fight. No one was supposed to get hurt. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t-  
“CAITLIN!” Cisco screamed, raising his arms to attack.  
Killer Frost looked at Cisco, allowing Caitlin to take over, tears creeping into her eyes. Caitlin shook her head in fear.  
“It’ll be okay, Vibe, it will be okay, I lo-” Caitlin croaked, tears crawling down her face as the current bad guy pressed his knife further against her neck. It dug into her neck, and then blackness took over.

 

Cisco stared in shock as Caitlin’s body dropped to the ground. Barry flashed in, took out the rogue, and then looked over.   
“No…” Barry took a step back, then sped Caitlin’s body away, Cisco assumed to S.T.A.R Labs, in hopes of saving Caitlin. But Cisco knew those hopes were futile, the same way he knew his life would never be whole again.  
Cisco blinked numbly, too scared to move. Then, he opened up a breach into S.T.A.R Labs, where he found Team Flash huddled around Caitlin’s body, which lay in the bed in her lab.  
“Cisco…” Iris looked up when she heard Cisco breach in, and she took a cautious step towards Cisco.  
“She’s- she’s-“ Cisco gasped, trying to blink away his tears.  
“Hey, hey, come here man,” Barry walked over to his friend, taking Cisco into a hug.  
Cisco resisted at first, but then he allowed Barry to hug him as his whole world fell apart.

 

Light filled Caitlin’s vision. She looked around, confused. How’d she get back to S.T.A.R. Labs? And why was everyone crying?  
“Guys,” Caitlin called out. “Guys, what’s wrong?” Caitlin took a step towards her friends.  
“They can’t hear you, Caity,” a chilly voice called out from behind Caitlin.  
“What?” Caitlin turned around in shock, wondering how could Killer Frost be *behind* her. Caitlin gasped, or tried to, but no air came through her mouth, as she saw herself, lying on the hospital bed, her neck slashed wide open.  
“Don’t you remember, Caity? We died,” Killer Frost said chillily.  
“What? But how are-“ Caitlin began in confusion.  
“Still around? Beats me, but I’m guessing it’s somehow your fault,” Killer Frost glanced at Caitlin.  
Caitlin turned around in shock, looking at her friends, who were all huddled in a group hug, and sobbing. Caitlin couldn’t stop herself from walking up to join in on the hug, even if they wouldn’t feel her arms reaching around them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin's funeral is hosted, but Cisco is nowhere to be found. Caitlin can't believe her friend wouldn't be there, and afterwords, she and Killer Frost's ghosts go looking for Cisco, and she is stunned to find him in the shape she does.

“Have you heard from Cisco?” Iris walked up to Barry after Caitlin’s funeral. Cisco had not been present.  
“No,” Barry shook his head.  
“You’d think he’d want to be here for this,” Iris looked out over the graveyard, wiping away a tear from her eye.  
“Yeah, I don’t know. Do you think we should be worried?” Barry looked at Iris.  
“Yes, we should be worried for him! His best friend just died, Barry!” Iris lightly smacked Barry with her purse.  
“Try not to take it personally, Caity,” Killer Frost rolled her eyes, noticing that Caitlin was sitting on top of her grave- her GRAVE- and trying not to cry.  
“Try not to take WHAT personally, Frost,” Caitlin snapped, “that Cisco didn’t come?! Why wouldn’t I take THAT personally?!”  
“I’m sure that he has perfectly valid reasons for not being here,” Frost looked over at Caitlin.  
Caitlin began to laugh hysterically.  
“Caity?” Frost walked over to Caitlin.  
“I can’t even cry like this,” Caitlin laughed, pained eyes squinting at Killer Frost.  
“We should get out of here, don’t you think,” Killer Frost said, noticing how upset Caitlin was.  
“Yeah, that’s… a good idea,” Caitlin shook her head, standing up from her gravestone. She began walking, walking out of the graveyard- leaving Barry, Iris, Joe, and Cecile behind- walking down the roads, unnoticed by all. She kept walking until she stood before an apartment building.  
Cisco’s apartment building.  
She made the motion of taking a deep breath, forgetting she no longer could breathe, and went to open the door. She made a grunting noise as her hand went right through the door.  
“Tell me again why you though that would work?” Frost snickered.  
“Not, helping,” Caitlin turned around to face Killer Frost.  
“Tell me, Caity, dear, what would help?” Killer Frost said sarcastically.  
“Maybe telling me how to open the door?” Caitlin threw her arms up, trying to avoid paying attention to the people passing beneath her.  
“I’m in the same boat as you,” Frost put her arms in the air in mock innocence.  
“Great,” Caitlin blinked in frustration, trying to bite down on her none-existent lip. That’s when she noticed the people walking through her.  
“Just now realizing we can walk right through that wall, are you?” Frost snorted.  
Caitlin smiled, finally getting some good news, and then walked right through the door. She walked up the stairs until she arrived at Cisco’s apartment, and then she stepped into her friend’s home. What she found shocked her.  
Cisco was curled up into a ball on the couch, sobbing. There was uneaten food scattered around him, and he was still wearing his Vibe Suit.  
“Oh, Cisco…” Caitlin stepped forward, and put a hand on her friend’s back. Her hand sunk into his back, but he shook in shock when her hand made contact, causing her to pull away.  
Cisco blinked and looked around his room, not knowing what he was expecting to see, seeing as how he knew it wouldn’t be Caitlin. He shook his head at his own ridiculousness, and then turned back over.  
Caitlin shook her head in concern for her friend, stunned into silence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one's seen Cisco since the night Caitlin died, but, weeks later, he shows up when Barry needs help. Caitlin's ghost sees this, and he vibes her for the first time

“Barry, get out of there,” Iris cursed a few weeks later, looking in fear at the blinking lights on the computer console.  
“No, just tell me what to do!” Barry’s voice came over the intercom.  
“Barry… I don’t know…” Iris whispered, a hand to her mouth.  
“Iris, you won’t steer me wrong, just tell me how to beat this guy!” Barry’s voice boomed.  
“I steered Caitlin wrong…” Iris whispered, tears filling her eyes as she blinked desperately at the monitors.  
“No… no, Iris, you didn’t,” Caitlin whispered, despite knowing Iris wouldn’t hear her.  
“Iris, listen to me, what happened to Caitlin isn’t your fault, now tell me how best to beat this guy before he causes more damage!” Barry continued to shout over coms.  
Iris shook her head, unable to think, unable to breathe.  
“Contain him in a lightning vacuum, Barry!” there was a noise as Cisco breached into the Cortex.  
“Cisco, you’re here!” Iris exclaimed.  
“yeah, well, I couldn’t leave you on your own forever,” Cisco muttered, glancing down at the monitors.  
“I’m so proud of you, Cisco,” Caitlin said, reaching to hug Cisco.  
Cisco’s head snapped up, his vision turned blue, and he heard… Caitlin? Telling him she was… proud?   
“Cisco? What’s wrong?” Iris asked, surprised by Cisco’s sudden motion.  
“I-… I don’t know,” Cisco looked around, tucking his hair behind his ear.  
“Hey, thanks man,” Barry said as he flashed into the room, then he moved to hug Cisco, who tried- and succeeded- to push Barry away.  
“What was I supposed to do, let both of my best friends die?” Cisco coughed.  
“Cisco…” Barry took a step towards Cisco, who shook his head, opened a breach, and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco Vibes Caitlin's ghost again, but for the first time he realizes more or less what's happening. however, he doesn't learn much, because Barry and Iris show up to check up on him.

Cisco rolled over in bed a few weeks later. He looked at his phone, and seeing no alerts, he rolled back over in hopes of getting more sleep.  
Caitlin looked over the top of him at Killer Frost, who just shrugged, her transparent form saying “what do you expect me to do?”  
“Cisco, you have to get up, go back to work, go help the others,” Caitlin said, vainly trying to push Cisco out of bed. As usual, she went right through his blanket, his bed, and him.  
Cisco jumped up in bed in shock, a chill running down his spine as the familiar blues of a Vibe took over his vision, and he heard Caitlin’s voice, crackling, like an old radio, telling him to get up. Cisco stumbled out of bed, causing Caitlin to raise her fists in triumph, and then proceeded to get a beverage out of his fridge.  
“Seriously, Cisco?!” Caitlin exclaimed, attempting to lightly smack him on the head.  
“whAT iS hApENNinG?!” Cisco exclaimed as he, once more, got an unwarranted Vibe, which, one again, featured Caitlin’s voice, scolding his behavior.  
Killer Frost looked at Caitlin in surprise, realizing that every time Caitlin had touched Cisco, he had Vibed her.  
“Cisco, Cisco, can you hear me?” Caitlin put her hand on her friend’s back as she faced Cisco.  
The familiar and cold blue of a Vibe returned yet again without any prompting to Cisco’s knowledge, but this time the glaring light illuminated Caitlin’s form, going alongside her voice.  
“Caitlin?!” Cisco took a step back in shock, terrified of what was happening. “No, no, no, of course it’s not Caitlin, not my Caitlin, anyway, I must be Vibing some other Caitlin,” Cisco muttered to himself, desperately trying to rationalize what he was Vibing, desperately to understand how he could be communicating with her ghost.  
“Well, damn,” Killer Frost nodded in respect to Cisco.  
“No, Cisco, it’s me,” Caitlin continued to reach out to Cisco, her eyes growing with emotion.  
“But… but how?” Cisco asked, raising his hands to his head, certain for the first time since he first got his powers that he was hallucinating.  
“If only we knew, then maybe we wouldn’t be stuck like this,” Killer Frost stepped up next to Caitlin.  
“Like what?” Cisco asked. “Like ghosts?” after all the things he had seen with Caitlin, he knew it should not have surprised him as much as it did.  
“Cisco?” Barry’s voice called from outside Cisco’s apartment door, and there was a knock.  
“It would seem so,” Caitlin released her hand from Cisco, and his vision returned to normal.  
“Caitlin?! Where’d you go?” Cisco called out into the apartment.  
“What happened?” Caitlin turned to Killer Frost.  
“Why on any earth would I know?” Killer Frost shifted her form in a manner that looked quite like shifting her weight from one foot to another.  
Cisco looked around his apartment and tucked his hair behind his ears, like he always did when he was thinking while stressed or worried. He tried flailing his arms around in hopes of making contact with Caitlin’s ghost again, but when the Vibe didn’t return and Barry kept calling for Cisco to open the door, Cisco shook his head in resignation and chalked the experience up to a hallucination caused by sleep-deprivation and grief.  
“Okay, Cisco, if you really don-” Barry began from the other side of the door, much to Caitlin’s frustration.  
“What are those idiots thinking, leaving Cisco alone like this while he’s in… THAT state,” Killer Frost glanced with disdain at the door, then at Cisco, voicing Caitlin’s frustrations.  
Caitlin just shook her nonexistent head, not quite sure herself. She was so certain they knew better, so to see this from the team…  
“No, it’s fine,” much to the shock of everyone, Cisco opened up the door, revealing Barry and Iris.  
“Cisco, we’ve been so worried about you,” Barry stepped forward towards Cisco, who took a step back.  
“Well, I’m fine, so,” Cisco shook his head.  
“How are you holding up? Are you okay?” Iris smiled halfheartedly.  
“No, he’s not okay! But you would know that if you had been here with him!” Caitlin groaned exasperatedly, frustrated that Barry and Iris couldn’t see where they had gone wrong, and frustrated that there was nothing she could do about it.  
“What does it look like?” Cisco gestured at his apartment. “Is that all you wanted?”  
Iris breathed in, her melancholic smile starting to fade, and she nodded.  
“Then could you please leave,” Cisco motioned to the door.  
“Okay, Cisco,” Barry whispered softly as he and Iris turned to leave.  
“No, don’t… go…” Caitlin looked from Barry and Iris to Cisco in irritation as the couple walked out the door. The door slammed shut, and Caitlin groaned in frustration, then decided to march out after Barry and Iris.  
“I don’t know, Barry, I just… I feel like we should be trying to do more,” Iris looked up at her husband, tears starting to form in her eyes.  
“You don’t think I don’t know that, Iris?” Barry put his hands on his head in frustration and paced back and forth down the hall. “But if he won’t let us be there for him…”  
“Barry… I’m worried about him. What if he never recovers?” Iris raised her hands to her mouth and began to sob.  
“He will, he has to. I trust him to, shouldn’t you?” Caitlin shook her head in confusion.  
“Hey, hey, come here,” Barry turned to Iris, holding her tight. “We’ll see that he does, it’s what Caitlin would want.”  
“Damn straight,” Caitlin nodded her agreement.  
“But how? How, Barry? How will everything be okay?” Iris rested her head in Barry’s chest.  
“I… don’t know…” Barry whispered softly, his words hitting Caitlin’s ghost like a freight train. Metaphorically, of course, but it felt like a train none the less.  
“They don’t know how to help,” Caitlin said in shock.  
“What are you talking about?” Frost gave Caitlin a curious side-eye.  
“Your question earlier, why would they leave him alone like this? It’s not that they want to, but they don’t know how to help,” Caitlin cast a worried look at the door, and then she stepped towards Barry and Iris, joining in on their hug and watching their chests and backs expand and shrink with every sobbing breath they took, knowing that if she had her physical body, it would be doing the very same.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin and Killer Frost begin to experiment with the newfound revelation that Cisco can Vibe them

Caitlin sighed as she watched Barry and Iris go down the hall and leave the building. They were trying, she knew that now, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t still upset. She shook her head and turned around, walking through the closed door and into Cisco’s apartment, where she found Cisco already slumped over on the couch.  
She walked up to Cisco and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his back. “You know, you really should let them in more, Cisco. They’re only trying to help,” Caitlin glanced at Cisco, vainly willing her eyes to form tears.  
“OH, NOW you come back?” Cisco shouted at what he presumed was the air as the familiar and yet hostile blue of a Vibe filled his sight yet again, and, yet again, bringing Caitlin’s voice along with it.  
“What are you…” Caitlin began, looking at Cisco in confusion.  
“Well, damn, it would seem the little Breacher can see us,” Killer Frost walked around to the front of the couch.  
“No! No, I can’t, because you’re not real!” Cisco exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut.  
Caitlin took her hand off Cisco’s back as she looked on in disorientation. The Vibe quickly faded Cisco’s sight.  
“Thank you,” Cisco groaned to the sky as he flopped back into his sofa.  
Caitlin squinted, not sure what was wrong with Cisco, and she couldn’t be sure because she couldn’t speak with him. So she just patted him.  
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!” Cisco exclaimed as, yet again, and almost blinding blue light completely distorted the world around him. He looked down, and was shocked to see an elegant and feminine hand on his chest that wasn’t there before. He followed the hand with his eyes all the way up the arm it was attached to, and what he saw terrified him more than he had ever been terrified before. He scrambled back, the Vibe fading A G A I N, his face that of a man who had seen a ghost. Which was accurate, but never mind that.  
Caitlin retraced Cisco’s eye’s footsteps with her own, and that’s when she formed her hypothesis. She reached out her hand experimentally to Cisco’s body, and watched with interest as he spasmed the way he does when receiving an uninvited Vibe. Then she removed her hand, and watched as he evidently lost the Vibe. Then, she repeated the process, again, and again, and again, until she could be absolutely positive.  
“How many more times are you going to do that? Just give the poor man a break,” Killer Frost said sometime after the twenty-sixth round. She had perched atop the arm of Cisco’s sofa, and was watching in amusement as Caitlin experimented.  
“Just… once more,” Caitlin said, reaching out her hand once again to Cisco, this time grabbing his hand. “Cisco… can you hear me? Can you see me?” Caitlin asked tentatively.  
“Yes, of course I can see you,” Cisco snapped, trying to pull his hand away in fear.  
“No, don’t!” Caitlin cried, desperately trying to maintain the connection.  
“What’s the matter, Vibey-Boy, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Killer Frost crowed from perch, earning a glare disappointment from Caitlin and a hesitant snort from a discombobulated Cisco.  
“So… you’re real… you’re MY Caitlin?” Cisco said, failing to process what was happening. Killer Frost flicked her eyes in approval at the way he said ‘MY Caitlin.’  
“I’m no one else’s Caitlin,” Caitlin smiled. She was once again shocked to find that she missed the ability to cry, and yet, Cisco could see it in the way she smiled that, had she had any physical form whatsoever, her eyes would be welling up with tears.  
“I- I miss you, Caitlin,” Cisco moved to hug her, and he stared when his arms went right through her.  
“Aw, were you going to hug her? Shame, we can’t do thing like that anymore. The best you’re gonna get is making the motion, and pretending,” Frost made a movement, and her form slid off of Cisco’s couch.  
Caitlin bit her lip apologetically, and Cisco shook his head with pursed lips.  
“Oh, don’t listen to her, come here,” Caitlin said while she moved her hand up Cisco’s arm, down his back, and made as if to hug him. He couldn’t actually feel her embracing him, but the gesture was warm enough, and Cisco soon found himself sobbing. Caitlin looked at Cisco’s tears with an abnormal combination of envy and distress,


	6. Chapter 6

“So how did you get like this?” Cisco asked when he was done sobbing through Caitlin.  
“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Caitlin tried to move to a position that wasn’t so in Cisco’s face.  
“We have no unfinished business that I can think of, so that’s out the window,” Killer Frost shrugged, pacing around to sit on Cisco’s coffee table. “Unless, of course, you know something Cait and I both can’t recall?” Killer Frost raised an eyebrow.  
Cisco thought about it for a moment, but he shook his head. “The only thing unfinished I can think of is Caitlin’s last words,” Cisco said. He had been thinking about that moment a lot, wondering if Caitlin was going to say what he thought she was going to say.  
“Oh!” Caitlin pulled her hand away from Cisco in surprise, taking her and Killer Frost from his vision once more, since she could only barely remember what she had been saying herself, and she wasn’t even sure if that was right.  
“What’s wrong, Caitlin?” Killer Frost asked, blinking in surprise.  
“It’s… nothing…” Caitlin shook her head, trying her best not to think about those last few minutes that day. She sighed, then put her hand back on Cisco’s.  
“What was that?” Cisco asked.  
“Caity took her hand off of you, seems you two need to maintain contact if you want to see her,” Killer Frost tilted her head.  
“There’s got to be a more convenient way to keep doing this,” Caitlin groaned. It didn’t usually bother her much- she didn’t have any nerves so she physically couldn’t be bothered by awkward or painful positioning- but she had to keep awkwardly close to Cisco and that wasn’t comfortable for speaking ever. Regardless, it limited his ability to move. Not that she had any reason to think he’d be moving any time soon, given the past few weeks, but when he did decide to move and be active and actually do things- and he would if it damned Caitlin to hell- that would be very hard to do while keeping in contact with Caitlin.  
“Well, I’m Vibing you, right? Then, if I had something of yours, then maybe I could keep Vibing you without touching you?” Cisco looked at Caitlin, an idea lighting Cisco’s eyes, much to Caitlin’s relief.  
“There should be something in my old place,” Caitlin asked.  
“Assuming it hasn’t been sold yet,” Frost crossed her arms.  
“Oh! Right…” Caitlin tried to bite her lip in frustration, but her teeth went right through her nonexistent lips.  
“No, no, it hasn’t. They can’t legally declare you dead because we’d have to explain how you died, and that requires outing you,” Cisco explained.  
“Why would that be a problem? I mean, we’re dead now, so no one’s gonna come after us,” Killer Frost looked with curiosity at Cisco.  
“Okay, but they could still come after your mother-” Cisco started.  
“And why should I care about that?” Frost squinted at Cisco.  
“Because… never mind… but they could find out who you cared about and come after us, or use your identity to figure out ours. Frost, you know this,” Cisco looked at Caitlin in confusion.  
“Then why didn’t I need to wear a mask?” Frost snickered.  
“We’re not having this debate right now. The point is, we can still go to your place,” Cisco looked from Killer Frost to Caitlin.  
“Well, okay, let’s go!” Caitlin smiled with pride at Cisco.  
“Okay, I’m going to stand up now,” Cisco looked at Caitlin, gesturing with his eyes to tell her to stand up with him. He grunted as he pulled himself up, and Caitlin made sure her hand didn’t lose contact with his while moving into a straight position herself.  
Cisco reached out with his free hand, and a Breach opened up a few feet away. Cisco looked at Caitlin, and the two walked through the Breach, hand in hand. A few seconds later, Killer Frost hopped through the breach herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Cisco and Caitlin stepped into the dark apartment. Caitlin took a step closer to Cisco, something feeling somehow wrong about her old home, now covered in shadows. Cisco shivered and stiffened as she stepped towards him. It was the first time either of them had been to her apartment since that night, and while Caitlin’s only problem with being there was the lack of visibility, Cisco found himself fighting tears, the whole place still smelling like Caitlin. Not that she knew that, she couldn’t smell or feel all of her old things that had made her home.   
“Hey, can you turn the lights on?” Killer Frost said as she landed behind them.  
Cisco went to do so, Caitlin dragging along beside him, but when he flipped the switch, nothing happened. He tried a few more times, then shook his head.  
“So, they won’t legally declare us dead, but they won’t pay our electric bills either? Makes sense,” Killer Frost nodded sarcastically.  
“Alright, I’m going to let go of you now, I’ll get you if I find something,” Caitlin said to Cisco.  
“Wait, what do I do if I need to speak to you?” Cisco looked to Caitlin, not wanting her to leave now that he knew it was her.  
“Then you can do the chicken dance. Make sure to sing the song loud enough so we can hear it, too,” Killer Frost nodded.  
“Caitlin? Can I have a real answer? Please?” Cisco looked at Caitlin with large puppy dog eyes.  
“I gave you a real answer?!” Killer Frost spread her arms out to the side defensively.  
“Just call out my name,” Caitlin blinked at Cisco, then moved to leave.  
“That makes sense, just one more thing,” Cisco said, desperately trying to maintain contact with Caitlin, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep contact much longer.  
“What?” Caitlin asked, irritation creeping into her voice.  
“Did you always keep it this cold?” Cisco asked.  
Caitlin rolled her eyes and walked off to start searching her apartment for something- anything- that meant enough to her, once upon a time, to be Vibeable, but something small enough it wouldn’t be awkward or abnormal for Cisco to be carrying around.  
“What about this?” Killer Frost called from the kitchen.   
Caitlin joined Killer Frost, but when she saw that Killer Frost was pointing to a knife in her knife block, Caitlin just shook her head.  
“What? It’s usable,” Killer Frost looked longingly at the knife. It was the first knife Caitlin had bought since she and Killer Frost worked their relationship out, and she had bought it specifically for Killer Frost. That was Killer Frost’s knife, and, not that she’d ever let Caitlin know, it was Frost’s favorite weapon.  
“What, is he just supposed to walk around with a knife in his hands?” Caitlin continued to shake her head as she walked through the kitchen, not expecting to find much in there, but looking none the less.  
“I don’t see the problem,” Frost sighed, letting her ghostly fingers fall through the knife’s hilt.  
“That doesn’t solve the inconvenience problem, and if he went out with it, people would probably assume he intends to use it on another human being. Regardless, I don’t have any emotional connection to that knife,” Caitlin sighed, trying to look at her plates and cups- though, that was incredibly hard seeing as how she couldn’t open the cabinet doors, and if she stuck her head in the actual cupboard, she would just find herself in the middle of the plates, bowls, and cups. Thankfully, her cabinets had glass windows in their doors, which was more than could be said for the silverware drawers.   
“Why are you looking in there, I think anything in there would be even more inconvenient for him to carry,” Killer Frost glanced over at Caitlin.  
Caitlin shrugged, then proceeded to look around in the shelves and on the table for anything that might work, like keys or a notepad or something, but to no avail.  
Caitlin shook her head in frustration, then walked out of the kitchen and back into the living area. She stopped at a shelf by the door to the kitchen, finding a picture taken a few years ago, after the first Flash Day was wrecked by the first meta they had met from Earth 2. Barry had insisted on them going back later on, after the wreckage was cleared and before the actual decorations were taken down, and he had asked Joe to take a picture of him, Iris, Caitlin, and Cisco. He had said that it was because he wouldn’t be here without all of them, and that they deserved to be honored too. Caitlin smiled at that photo, remembering a time long past, when they were all so happy. True, this was taken during a particularly rough time, but it was also taken as they had finally begun to heal from the wounds of losing their leader and Ronnie, and it was before they had known the pain that they would inevitably go through. Caitlin loved that image; when working with the Flash began to take an emotional toll later on in her life, she would always go back to it, to remember why she did this in the first place.  
Caitlin smiled fondly at the picture, missing how innocent they once were. True, they had been partially broken at the time, but they had also been healing. Once, that phot had meant why she fought, why she still worked at S.T.A.R. Labs. Now, it meant that the team would be fine, that no matter what happened or how broken they were, they would survive.  
“I don’t get why we can’t just use a favorite test tube-” Frost rolled her eyes as she stepped up besides Caitlin.  
“That’s glass and would break easily,” Caitlin sighed as she turned around.  
“-or the marker you always used on the glass board back at S.T.A.R. Labs,” Frost finished.  
“That wasn’t just mine, and there wasn’t much sentimental value there,” Caitlin shook her head.  
“Could this work?” Cisco asked as he walked in, wearing Caitlin’s old S.T.A.R. Labs windbreaker.  
“I don’t know, could it?” Killer Frost glared at Cisco with a tilted head.  
“It would seem so,” Cisco smiled triumphantly at Killer Frost.


	8. Chapter 8

“Now that we’ve solved that problem, the new question is how do we fix it?” Caitlin sat down on her old couch.  
“How ‘bout we pull an Elric?” Cisco said, even though he knew Caitlin wouldn’t get his reference. “You know, binding your souls to a new body?” Cisco responded to Caitlin and Killer Frost’s blank expressions.  
“No, thanks, possession isn’t really my style,” Frost shifted to lean backwards.  
“Since when?” Caitlin squinted at Killer Frost.  
“Since forever?” Frost shook her head in confusion.  
“Literally your entire life you possessed me,” Caitlin raised her eyebrows.  
“Okay, but that doesn’t count. Besides, I didn’t really like sharing a body. Ten out of ten would not recommend it,” Killer Frost crossed her arms.  
“What if you had separate bodies?” Cisco asked, eyes following the two girls’ argument.  
“We’d still have to share with someone. Unless, of course, you were willing to kill the body’s owner. But even then I still wouldn’t, that body would be rotting and completely dysfunctional,” Frost looked to Cisco.  
“Well, how do you plan on coming back then?” Cisco’s shoulders rose as he asked the question.  
“I don’t,” Killer Frost simply shrugged.  
“What do you mean?! Of c o u r s e you’re coming back! Tell her, Caitlin!” Cisco said, looking desperately at Caitlin.  
“I agree with Killer Frost, Cisco,” Caitlin’s worry manifested itself in her eyes as she leaned towards Cisco.  
“Why? Don’t you want to come back to S.T.A.R. Labs?” Cisco laughed incredulously, tears starting to form yet again in his eyes.  
“Of course I do, Cisco. But I wouldn’t be able to smell, to feel, to taste. It’s miserable like this, Cisco. And if you did find me a body that could, I’d be a murderer to take it! And let’s say you kill the owner, then you’re a killer and I have a corpse that doesn’t have full function. That, that would not be life,” Caitlin stood up and walked towards Cisco, putting her transparent hands through his physical ones. Cisco pulled away, betrayal in his eyes, and he took Caitlin’s jacket off, breaching away to S.T.A.R. Labs.  
“That could have gone better,” Killer Frost turned to Caitlin.


	9. Chapter 9

Cisco hopped out of the breach into the center of the speed lab at S.T.A.R. Labs, red and yellow lightning circulating through the top at rapid yet consistent speeds.  
“Hey, man, what’s up?” Barry asked, concern written all over his face, as he showed up through the mouth of the track, the lightning disappearing as he left.  
“I just… felt like leaving the house,” Cisco shrugged.  
“Are you okay?” Barry looked at him with concern.  
“Can’t a guy leave his house because he feels like it anymore?” Cisco said defensively.  
“Well, I guess, but it’s just that it’s been a while,” Barry tilted his head.  
“Yeah, well-” Cisco started, rubbing his eyes.  
“Hey, no, you don’t have to explain yourself, it’s fine,” Barry shook his head as he stepped towards Cisco.  
“Hey, Barry, when you’re done, I need some files on-” Iris’s voice started echoing closer and closer to the speed lab. “Oh! Cisco, I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Iris said in surprise as she entered the speed lab.  
“Where else would I be?” Cisco looked at Iris.  
“Back at home? Crying in bed?” Iris said in confusion, honestly wondering if he had forgotten the past several weeks. Unless, of course, Barry had told him about the current case they were working, but Iris had asked Barry to give Cisco his space, so she didn’t think that he had.  
Barry shook his head warningly at Iris, trying to figure out why she’d make a statement like that right then. Barry loved Iris with all his heart, but that was not the best word choice.  
“What, too soon? The point is, Cisco, you haven’t been here, at all, since-” Iris put her hands on her hips.  
“Since Caitlin died? Well, excuse me for taking time to grieve,” Cisco put his hands up, going on the defensive.  
“No, Cisco, I get taking time to grieve, but the world doesn’t pause for us to, criminals definitely don’t, and we can’t stop defending the people just because we’re hurting,” Iris shifted her weight from foot to the other with confidence as she scolded Cisco.  
Barry smiled at Iris with pride, once again amazed that T H A T was the woman he had married. Cisco looked to Barry for support, but Barry shook his head, saying, “Sorry, man, but I agree with Iris, and not just because I love her, or because she’s just about always right, but because she I S right in this scenario. You didn’t see the way things were in 2024 in the timeline Savitar created, but I did, so not only do I know that she’s right, but I know how bad it would be if we ignored the fact. Cisco, future me gave up on being the Flash without Iris, and you couldn’t stop metas and criminals because you didn’t have your hands. The people had no one to protect them, and crime practically destroyed the city.”  
“Okay, but this isn’t like you and Iris!” Cisco exclaimed, shaking,  
“Isn’t it, Cisco?” Iris tilted her head, concern sneaking into her voice and replacing the stern tone she used whenever a member of the team was being particularly… irrational.  
“No, it’s not, because Caitlin and I weren’t i N L O V E!” Cisco laughed hysterically.  
“We can have that debate another day, because even if you weren’t, if it wasn’t okay for me to do something like this when my wife and the honest-to-god love of my whole damn life died, why the hell would it be okay for you now that Caitlin’s dead?” Barry shook his head in shock, trying to understand what was going on with Cisco. Failing horribly, but trying none the less.  
“I don’t know, it just is!” Cisco threw up his hands in exasperation as he stormed out of the speed lab and marched down to his workshop. Picking something up to work on, he grunted in frustration. He twisted and tweaked the unfinished device, too distracted by the problem with Caitlin to even know what he was doing with it.  
Cisco stiffened as he heard steps walking into his workshop. He turned around testily, not in the mood for debating with Barry or Iris.  
“What’s that?” Iris asked cautiously, pointing with her eyes at the thing in Cisco’s hands while fidgeting with her own.  
“It’s… it’s nothing,” Cisco looked at the device in his hands, thinking he wouldn’t be able to fix it, the same way he wouldn’t be able to fix Caitlin.  
“Okay, well, if you need anything…?” Iris nodded in concern.  
“Why do people seem to think I need something?” Cisco asked, tossing the device down on his desk in irritation.  
“We’re just worried about you, Cisco,” Iris stepped forward and pulled a chair to be across from Cisco, which she promptly sat down in.  
“You’ve said that, but you don’t need to be worried, I’m fine,” Cisco shook his head.  
Iris blinked at Cisco, her worry for her friend etched into her face. Then she shook her head and left.  
Cisco grumbled for a minute, then he sighed, realizing that he has to help Caitlin, even if it killed him. He pushed his seat back, then he opened up a breach and jumped through to Caitlin’s apartment.  
He looked down at his feet, where the windbreaker still lay discarded, and he picked it up, letting the cold and harsh blues of a Vibe take over his vision, but also letting Caitlin and Killer Frost back into his world.


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile…  
“I can’t believe him,” Caitlin shook her head as she leaned back in the sofa. She thought he’d understand, but it would seem he couldn’t.  
“You can’t blame him, Caity,” Frost looked at her, confused.  
“YOU’RE really telling ME that?” Caitlin raised an eyebrow at Frost.  
“Yes, I am, because you need to see that. YOU’RE supposed to be the forgiving one, not me,” Frost shrugged, fingers flaring out again.  
“It’s not that I don’t forgive him,” Caitlin shook her head.  
“Then what’s wrong?” Frost huffed, stomping over to sit next to Caitlin.  
“I just can’t see why he can’t be supportive of this. Even if he can’t understand why I wouldn’t want to try to come back, he should still be willing to help. I mean, that’s what we do for each other. How is this any different than the time I agreed to help him with the meta-cure,” Caitlin shook her head.  
“Well, that’s hardly the same thing, Caity, because you knew how beneficial it would be for countless innocents,” Frost crossed her arms.  
“And he knows that this would be better for you and me. But, what about that time I lost you and he helped me get you back? He didn’t understand that!” Caitlin sighed.  
“That didn’t involve him losing you, Caity,” Frost said, moving her formless hand symbolically over to Caitlin’s.  
“I know. But, I want peace! And I don’t think I can have it if he’s refusing to let go of me,” Caitlin shook her head, smiling at Killer Frost’s gesture. Frost was generally cold, but she always came through for Caitlin when she needed her.  
“If he can’t see that and help you, he isn’t worth your time,” Killer Frost said coldly. The two sat there for a while more, staring at the jacket on the ground.  
There was a burst of blue light, and a breach opened up, Cisco stepping through. Killer Frost moved protectively in front of Caitlin, even though she knew it wouldn’t do anything, as the two watched Cisco bend down and pick up the jacket.  
“Hey,” Cisco said cautiously.  
“What do YOU want,” Killer Frost glared at Cisco harshly.  
“… I don’t want you to leave me, not again. But if this is really Caitlin’s choice, then I guess I’ll support it,” Cisco barely choked the words out.  
“Thank you, Cisco,” Caitlin closed her eyes.  
“We should go back to S.T.A.R. Labs. We should have better luck figuring out how to… it’ll be easier there,” Cisco shook his head, not being able to bring himself to say the words.


End file.
